


Traveling Merchants and a Snowstorm

by hentailobster



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Gen, I'm Sorry, not explicitly in the story but in the context of what happens in canon :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 10:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17364662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hentailobster/pseuds/hentailobster
Summary: Sabo visits a tavern under disguise and meets a mysterious man





	Traveling Merchants and a Snowstorm

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the start of the series but before marineford so y'all know what this is all about babes

Sabo wrapped his scarf tighter around his face before stepping into the tavern. 

 

With the eyepatch and hat it was unlikely he’d be recognized, but one could never be careful enough, especially not in an establishment frequented by pirates. He’d been against the operation in the first place, but with getting a mission from Dragon himself he couldn’t exactly object. Things would probably end up fine, and besides it wasn’t a _dangerous_ mission per se, just unnecessary. Pirates rarely provided much useful information. 

 

The tavern was crowded with people seeking shelter from the harsh weather outside, all of them wrapped in many layers of clothing since the tavern’s walls didn’t provide much isolation. The walls’ logs were old, and here and there snow would slip between them into the crowded room along witha gush of wind that made the guests shiver. From the looks of it Sabo wouldn’t have to escape any brawls today, at least. No one present looked in the mood to fight, or even move at all. 

 

Except for maybe one person. He caught Sabo’s attention primarily because of his clothing- a thin-looking, hooded coat that had been unbuttoned to reveal a shirt equally inappropriate for the weather. Despite this the man looked more relaxed than anyone present and that made Sabo curious, to say the least. He figured since he was there to gather information, the mysterious man was as good a place as any to start and casually strolled over. 

 

”Mind if I take a seat?” He asked and the man shrugged in response. 

 

”Sure, ’s not like I can stop you is it?” 

 

The man grinned and Sabo retorted as he sat down. 

 

”So what’s with the-” He gestured vaguely towards the man’s whole outfit. Partly to start up a conversation so he could get some of the information he’d come to look for and partly because he was genuinely curious. 

 

”Oh I’ve never been bothered much by cold” The man waved his hand dismissively ”You however…” 

 

”I would prefer not to lose any toes to hypothermia, yes” 

 

”Fair enough” The man took a sip of his drink. Judging from the lack of steam Sabo figured it must have been cold. Not really surprising at that point. ”So what brings you here?” The man asked once he put his mug down. 

 

”Oh I’m just passing by” The made up story came to Sabo naturally ”I’m a traveling merchant” 

 

”I see”

 

”What about yourself?” 

 

”Me? Well…” The man seemed to think for a moment before smirking at Sabo ”I’m just passing by. Traveling merchant and all” 

 

For a moment the answer baffled Sabo. What in the world were the odds of him running into an _actual_ traveling merchant, after all? Then it hit him. 

 

_He doesn’t believe me._

 

Sabo couldn’t help but smirk back. Even if the man had seen through his story he just couldn’t bring himself to be worried. Perhaps he was being careless, but for some reason he wasn’t in the least bit worried that the man might be out to harm him. There was a sense of…trust, oddly enough.

 

The two of them had fallen into a comfortable silence, which Sabo now broke. 

 

”Correct me if I’m wrong but, haven’t we met before?” He asked. Because if so was the case then it might explain the odd feeling he had. The man, however, just shrugged. 

 

”No idea. I get around, so we might have. Or you could have run into my brother” The way he said ’brother’ immediately told Sabo more than the man probably intended. He said the world with fondness and pride, and when Sabo asked who his brother was he lit up, obviously excited to tell the story. Then his face fell again. 

 

”Can’t tell you that. Wish I could but as a traveling merchant one needs to take precautions” 

 

_Right. Espionage, or whatever. No details about yourself._ It made sense, but Sabo still felt a little disappointed. 

 

Suddenly, a huge man to his right stood up and started making his way towards the exit. As soon as he did, Sabo’s conversation partner followed, turning back to Sabo with a bow about halfway. 

 

”Pleasure to meet you” He said, with a politeness Sabo wasn’t used to seeing in places like this. He felt the sudden urge to bow back, but resisted, instead answering. 

 

”Good luck on your travels” 

 

”You too” The man grinned ”I hope we meet again sometime!” 

 

And with that he was gone. He shut the door behind him and things in the tavern continued as per usual. 

 

But it would take Sabo months before he could stop wondering about the ’merchant’. 

**Author's Note:**

> :)


End file.
